[Abyss]

 polishgenius, on 07 August 2013 - 02:47 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 07 August 2013 - 02:07 PM, said:

and with KING and EMPEROR of THORNS both sitting there taunting me...

Oh, just fucking read them already, you Tigana-hating heretic.

I fucking will, but not because you told me to you given your dubious love for pointless incest, random demon dream invasion, handwaved plot mechanics and evil overlord wizards named 'Brandon'.

 QuickTidal, on 07 August 2013 - 08:11 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 07 August 2013 - 02:07 PM, said:

Am stalling out a bit with RIYRIA bk5...

It's actually going to be a good idea to take a few books of time off before reading the 6th book. It will be all the more affecting after a break.

Just my humble opinion as someone who had to wait for PERCEPLIQUIS a few months...the wait did me good to allow my brainsicles to relax out of the world a while.

Could be. I took a break after 4 but i think i'll take another. Not quite triggering the kind of consistent ravenous MUST READ MORE NOW i look for, but fun.

[Ukjent]

How can you hate Tigana? Go to bed and think about your wrong opinions.

[amphibian]

 Graablick, on 07 August 2013 - 09:06 PM, said:

How can you hate Tigana? Go to bed and think about your wrong opinions.

I didn't like it.

That dislike doesn't go down the gradient of opinion to loathe or hate, but Lions of al-Rassan is easily his best work and he's done nothing to rival it since.

[Ukjent]

Oh no, I'll think that I will stick with Lord of Emperors. But Lions and A Song for Arbonne may be the most heartbreaking ones.

[Stalker]

I also didn't like Tigana. It was way over-hyped for me, and ended up a letdown, though I also agree with some of what Abyss said. My favorites are easily the combo of Under Heaven and River of Stars.

[polishgenius]

Lions of Al-Rassan was two thirds of a great book and one third of a poor one. Seriously everything from the mask party onwards was just downright stupid. Which was a shame, because it has some of the best scenes ever written in fantasy before that.



Under Heaven is the best book I've read of his so far, though I've yet to get to River of Stars or The Sarantine Mosaic. It's another level, one of those books that's basically perfect.

[Ukjent]

Well if you love Under Heaven then River of Stars is a perfect fit. Those books just gave me a feeling of Autumn

[polishgenius]

Yeah, there was a melancholy thing going on in the first one. It reminded me a lot of The Long Price Quartet, and not just because they're both set in an Asia-based world.

[HiddenOne]

 Abyss, on 06 August 2013 - 03:45 AM, said:

 Tiste Simeon, on 05 August 2013 - 11:53 PM, said:

At this moment I have no fnarking clue where the second book is going to go. Nearly 75% through & only stopping cos its so fallumping late...

Oh Tiste.... You poor bastard... You have no idea what you're in for. I envy you for what HD is about to fire into your brain, and then what BoT is going to do in the open wound.

this would make a back cover blurb that any fantasy writer should strive for, and any reader should stop looking around and walk toward the cash register immediately


On topic, I just got Prince of Thorns over the weekend, and it seems pretty hard core. Is it supposed to be set in the real world's history?

I must further note that I could not find anything other than this one book on the entire wall (excepting hard covers) that I would buy based upon the recommendations of this august gathering of fantasy mongers. I was deeply saddened, because I wanted to get into the Caine series at once. I may be forced to use the internet and order something.

[HiddenOne]

I would love to have an app on my phone that would compile the data from this forum that would rate books, list some new authors or series and present reviews in a logical fashion. I find myself consulting an international panel of anonymous nerds to maximize my literary investment, and I want to do it more efficiently.

[Obdigore]

 HiddenOne, on 07 August 2013 - 11:18 PM, said:

I would love to have an app on my phone that would compile the data from this forum that would rate books, list some new authors or series and present reviews in a logical fashion. I find myself consulting an international panel of anonymous nerds to maximize my literary investment, and I want to do it more efficiently.

We should build that app and make all proceeds from ad revenue go to the forum!

[amphibian]

That app would have a ton of two star and five star reviews for GGK books.

Under Heaven was terrible, btw.

[MTS]

I think it's hilarious how polarising GGK is on this forum. I can't think of any author that we are so indecisive about.

But c'mon, in what way is Under Heaven terrible?

[Mentalist]

 Graablick, on 07 August 2013 - 09:06 PM, said:

How can you hate Tigana? Go to bed and think about your wrong opinions.

Tigana was over-hyped, the pseudo-Italy didn't work for me, the plot was convoluted, and none of the characters made a strong impression.

of all of GGK's works I've read (so everyhting except Ysabel and River of Stars , Sarantine Mosaic remains the unparalleled masterpiece.

In other news, I'm still making my way through "Nekropolis". Editing of this omnibus was pretty bad, and the inclusion of short stories was VERY poorly done--there are places where Waggoner literaly reuses entire sentences, if not descriptive paragraphs in different parts of books, making the whole thing feel redudndant. That being said, from a purely enjoyment perspective the books are still fun adventures in an interesting setting. I have no desire to stop reading, despite severe constraints on my reading time as of late.

eta:

 amphibian, on 08 August 2013 - 04:34 AM, said:

That app would have a ton of two star and five star reviews for GGK books.

Under Heaven was terrible, btw.

Disagree. It was all right, if nowhere near as good as Sarantine stuff.

I think a lot of polarizing opinions over GGKay's non-Fionovar stuff comes from the fact that he employs settings that are clearly based on periods of our own history. We then start comparing how accurately he described said period, often losing track of the fact that this is supposed to be fantasy. Our own impressions, opinions and expectations of what a book dealing with that particular historicel event should focus on may also come into play. But I feel this is a major part of GGKay's charm, since his books are always different.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 08 August 2013 - 04:59 AM

[Pig Iron]

Sarantine Mosaic is the correct answer

[amphibian]

 MTS, on 08 August 2013 - 04:48 AM, said:

I think it's hilarious how polarising GGK is on this forum. I can't think of any author that we are so indecisive about.

But c'mon, in what way is Under Heaven terrible?

There are quite a few threads that have popped up over the years on GGK and it's mostly people with very different opinions about books - which don't rely on historical accuracy or anything like that. Everybody here's a grownup about respecting the SF part of the writing - we are Erikson fans after all.

One thread: http://forum.malazan...s-works-thread/

Two thread: http://forum.malazan...c/24423-tigana/

Three thread: http://forum.malazan...s-of-al-rassan/

As for Under Heaven, it had completely flat characters, somehow disguised underneath a thin Chinese setting that a ton of people who don't read books with Chinese settings (or any foreign settings) think is awesome. The story itself is kind of nice - a good person somehow ends up with a hot potato McGuffin everyone wants and has to figure out who to trust and who to give the hot potato to - but the characters weaken it to a huge degree.

Okay, I looked back at my previous review and it got a "passable". Which is kind of saying "average" and is better than "terrible". I do think that it doesn't deserve awards or critical accolades over something like Ian MacDonald's The Dervish House or something else that was tremendous that came out that year.

This post has been edited by amphibian: 08 August 2013 - 04:25 PM

[End of Disc One]

About a third of the way into Red Country. Man this thing is slow compared to the last few Abercrombie books. I liked how at the beginning the chapters would alternate between two groups of characters, but now we're stuck with one group. I'm still mostly enjoying it but hoping it picks up.

[QuickTidal]

 End of Disc One, on 08 August 2013 - 01:26 PM, said:

About a third of the way into Red Country. Man this thing is slow compared to the last few Abercrombie books. I liked how at the beginning the chapters would alternate between two groups of characters, but now we're stuck with one group. I'm still mostly enjoying it but hoping it picks up.

I found the same thing when I tried to read it.

I'll get back to it, but I didn't get that many chapters in before placing it back in the ToRead pile...but I should note I LOATHE spaghetti westerns, so that aspect of it turns me right off.

[Abyss]

 MTS, on 08 August 2013 - 04:48 AM, said:

I think it's hilarious how polarising GGK is on this forum. I can't think of any author that we are so indecisive about.

What's actually fascinating about GGK isn't how polarizing he himself is so much as how his books are... TIGANA in particular prompts a love it or hate it response, but we've had raging debates about LIONS, ARBONNE, LAST LIGHT, FIONAVAR, UNDER HEAVEN.... the same forumites who love LOVE some of his books really unlove others.

I think the only generally (using the terms loosely) arrived at consensus is that SARANTINE was awesome and YSABEL sucked. And now someone will post to disagree with me.

There's also the interesting element that a lot of forumites put a lot of weight on each other's recommendations... so when something reads the opposite of what forumthink led them to believe, it prompts an equally vocal reaction. Also, TIGANA sucked in a randomly incestuous sort of way.

 Pig Iron, on 08 August 2013 - 06:20 AM, said:

Sarantine Mosaic is the correct answer

Agreed.

 QuickTidal, on 08 August 2013 - 02:15 PM, said:

 End of Disc One, on 08 August 2013 - 01:26 PM, said:

About a third of the way into Red Country. Man this thing is slow compared to the last few Abercrombie books. I liked how at the beginning the chapters would alternate between two groups of characters, but now we're stuck with one group. I'm still mostly enjoying it but hoping it picks up.

I found the same thing when I tried to read it.

I'll get back to it, but I didn't get that many chapters in before placing it back in the ToRead pile...but I should note I LOATHE spaghetti westerns, so that aspect of it turns me right off.

The spagwestern element was exactly what appealed to me for the opposite reason that i so enjoy those flics. Those elements do override the fantasy parts at times, so it's easy to see how some might find that offputting. I will say that i thought the last third of the book was pure fun action awesome and that when things really get going, JA nails it page after page and you will likely forget whatever bothered you about getting to that point.

[Salt-Man Z]

Just started SE's This River Awakens.